NORTH DAKOTA ( KXNET ) — Researchers are offering promising insights about the effects of light-intensity exercise on children’s brain function.

The study conducted found that even short bursts of simple exercise can increase the blood flow to the prefrontal cortex, which is the part responsible for important cognitive functions.

This could pave the way for easy exercise routines for kids who usually have a sedentary lifestyle.

Physical activity is already known to enhance cognitive function, but existing research focused mainly on running or sports.

But many kids don’t engage in enough activity, and sedentary behavior is on the rise. 81% of kids globally don’t meet the recommended levels of activity, and that raises concerns about brain development and cognitive function.

“Sedentary lifestyles and physical inactivity are prevalent among children worldwide,” said Takashi Naito, study author, doctoral student, and visiting researcher. “We aim to develop an exercise program that can be performed in the homeroom or between school classes to prevent sedentary behavior in children and positively affect their brains. Even light-intensity physical activity has health benefits. As the first step, we examined the effects of light-intensity exercise on cerebral blood flow.”

Movements include:

• Upward stretch (reach up with folded hands)
• Shoulder stretch (stretch one arm across the chest)
• Elbow circles (rotate elbows widely)
• Trunk twist (twist upper body)
• Washing hands (rub hands together)
• Thumb and pinky (finger dexterity exercise)
• Single-leg balance (stand on one leg)

During research, most exercises were done sitting, except the balancing one, and kids did them for 10-20 seconds. Researchers then measured brain activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), which tracks changes in blood flow.

All forms of exercise, except for some static stretches, increased blood flow significantly.

“I was surprised that rubbing hands and moving fingers for 10 to 20 seconds increased blood flow to a certain extent in the prefrontal cortex,” Naito said. “Since the hands have a strong connection with the brain, I expected the cerebral blood flow to increase slightly; however, the results were better than expected.”

And the exercises that involved more movements led to the greatest increase in brain activity.

“One-leg balance is a simple exercise,” Naito noted. “Still, I was surprised it increased the blood flow to the prefrontal cortex to such an extent.”

However, simple, static exercises showed minimal change in brain activity — showing that the more demanding the exercise, the more stimulating.

The research also found no big difference between 10 seconds and 20 seconds, suggesting that even very short bursts are enough to boost brain function.

“Even short-duration, light-intensity exercise can create changes in the body that may improve body and brain health compared to staying in the same position for long periods,” Naito explained. “Even if you are working, studying, or watching TV at a desk, move your body a little now and then.”

While the results are promising, the study had limitations — one being the age range and another accounting for a child’s individual physical fitness.

While the study measured the blood flow increase, it did not test if it translated into improved cognitive performance.

“This study showed that short-duration, light-intensity exercise increased cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex, except for monotonous movement stretching,” Naito said. “However, further research is needed to determine whether this leads to improved cognitive function; we are currently conducting this verification.”

Researchers are optimistic that this could be a regular part of school routines to help combat the negative effects of sedentary behavior while promoting cognitive development.

“Based on the findings of this study, we are now developing a light-intensity exercise program lasting a few minutes and examining whether it positively affects not only cerebral blood flow but also children’s cognitive function,” concluded Naito. “We plan to promote our research so that many schools will implement the program, which anyone can easily perform, to prevent sedentary behavior in children and to improve cognitive functions. We would also like to expand these programs for adults and older people to maintain and improve cognitive function.”

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